Welcome to Survival of the Fittest, a RPing board loosely based off of Koshun Takami's Battle Royale, with its own unique plot and spin on the 'deadly game'. We've been around quite a while, and are now in our thirteenth year, so don't worry about us going anywhere any time soon!

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Alrighty! Everyone knows the deal, so without much further ado, we'll be starting BKA/BDA. A quick note since it's relevant here for the first time this version: kills by dead characters are not eligible for BKA because, as an IC award, there's no way the terrorists would vote it as they can't deliver any prize. Also, deaths due to reasons other than voting, as in the escape plot or unrolled deaths, are included since they were not tied to any specific deadline. Finally, as we're back to normal, we have excluded kills/deaths from the previous month's rolls and those that went over without extensions, as is policy.

BKA: Mara Montalvo. I really enjoyed the scene overall. Summer busting in, throwing grenades, shooting shit and screwing herself up in the process. I loved Summer's part, but I think Mara's actions in the thread were really well-done and I enjoyed seeing how it all went down.

BDA: Mimi/Summer Simms because that death was really well-done. Summer was a fantastic character and her death was a really solid capstone. I especially liked the last line, how it tied off her neuroses and craziness in a very simple manner. Plus her involvement with the action beforehand was really fun.

BKA: Ian Williams, for killing Paulo Abbate. This was the sort of no holds barred, visceral scene that I wouldn't except for a character like Ian Williams. I had no idea what Vyse and Outfoxd were planning when Ian entered the thread, but it turned out brilliantly. It established Ian's direction a little stronger, and it allowed Paulo to go out swinging while still turning his death into a form of tragedy, given that it was mostly his own rage and aggression that was his undoing.

Good stuff. I dig it.

BDA: Mimi, for the death of Summer Simms. Summer's death was pretty much a perfect conclusion for her arc. Consumed by anger and heady invincibility, she charges after Mara, blazes up the room, and blows her foot off in the process. In her last moments, she's not looking for her friends or dwelling on her mistakes or throwing out pleas for forgiveness or remorse. She's looking for the terrorists who she truly believes treasure her. And in response?

"In a corner of the room, a glossy eye lingered on Summer as the boom of a gunshot echoed throughout the area and the last of her warmth was seeped into the air.

With one more kid down and one less story to watch, it turned its attention to Amaranta Montalvo."

One of the most powerful, simple pairs of lines I've read in V5. Fantastic, A++ work on Mimi's part.

BKA nomination goes to Hansel Williams for killing Theo Fletcher. While there were good kills this month from Mara and Ian Williams, Hansel's kill of Theo edges them out by being a brutal and visceral sequence of short, sharp posts that highlighted the best of both writers involved. Good work all around (especially in the ridiculously short time-frame the scene was written in), but I feel like the real strength of the scene is in Hansel's kill, rather than Theo's death.

BDA nomination goes to Mimi for the death of Summer Simms and wasn't Summer just the most heart-breaking character to watch spiral into insanity possibly in the history of the site? Summer dies just as tragically insane as she lived, and her death is a brutal, bloody reminder that some people just don't get that moment of clarity before they die. Bonus points for the haunting depiction of losing a limb in an explosion that really stuck with me.

Best Kill Award: This was a hard month. We only had six kills to choose from, and they were all fantastic. It was hard to choose, but my vote goes to Hansel Williams for killing Theodore Fletcher. It's a brutal scene between two of the main antagonists of V5, and I thought it was well done. Theo getting blinded was a neat touch, and I like that Hansel had to beat Theo to death instead of just shooting him. Hansel's had the luxury of killing his targets from a distance or without giving them much time to talk, and I think him going apeshit on Theo really showed a break in his character. Theo hurt him on Day One, and Hansel's time has been chaotic. It's unleashing a lot of anger and frustration, and I think it was just a good kill.

Best Death Award: As for my BDA vote, I choose Mimi for the death of Summer Simms. Man, this was such an exciting scene, and I think Summer's death was the best part about it. She comes into the scene a complete mess and takes charge of the scene, tossing a grenade and opening fire on the four in the room. However, in her insanity, she got too close to the grenade and destroyed her own leg, leaving her to injured and mad to stop Mara from shooting her.

What I love about the final post Mimi wrote for Summer was how it basically summed up all of Summer's character, and showed the tragedy in it. She wasn't cut out to survive the game, and since she's someone who craves attention, she tried to fall back on that to keep her around. Her killing of Naomi was a desperate move to get notoriety, and her issues with Mara stemmed from not having someone there from her. Even after losing her leg, she's still concerned about how the terrorists will view her. Of course, as the final line illustrates, once she's dead, she doesn't really matter to them anymore.

This was an amazing scene and one of my favorites of V5 so far, and I'm really amazed at how Mimi handled Summer, who is definitely one of my favorite characters who died before the halfway point. I now really hope to see what she does with Andi and Phoebe, as I know it will be fantastic.

BKA: Mara for shooting Summer. I liked how that whole scene played out - especially the whole grenade toss-and-run-in aspect of the scene. I also liked how this kill is so much different than her previous few, resulting in a possible paradigm shift for Mara. Having to basically mercy-kill a friend is far more emotionally impactful than Ray or Mike will have on her and I'm looking forward to it.

BDA: Karen Idel. This was an excellent post all around, and nearly singlehandedly won me over to Karen's story despite a somewhat lacking start in the midst of an escape attempt that was crowded and noisy. The themes established, the pain, defeat, and misery of Karen when she realizes that she's truly failed, was powerful and emotional.

BKA: Hansel Williams, for killing Theodore Fletcher - Hurrah for character arcs! Really, it was a really well done fight scene that was very important for both characters stories, and I think Hansel will be all the better for it. Plus, ICly, I think the guys upstairs always love two players fighting and killing one another, so it also just makes good sense.

BDA: Grim Wolf, for the death of Karen Idel - This one needs a longer explanation. What I like about Karen's death is that it's incredibly hard to argue with. What I mean by that is, too often (in all media, not just SOTF) writers will try to hit their audiences with the dark emotional stuff through ridiculously contrived and ugly circumstances, or them just being needlessly cruel to the characters for some kind of "lesson" on hardship. On the other hand, Karen's death is hard and heavy and touches upon a lot of unfortunate things that I think aren't handled properly by so many. It's not happy or hopeful, it doesn't stand on it's higher moral ground or try to give kudos for just trying. It's honest, that this was the truly sad outcome that happened and there's nothing that can be done. That's not something you see writers tackle or choose to do, and it's not done right when it is, but unlike those, it was an actual plausible ending for her story that doesn't come up for no reason, and it's written with a lot of sincerity.

BKA: Ian Williams for killing Paulo Abbate. A nice actiony fight scene that brought an end to Paulo's arc and promises good things for Ian, I think. It was a pretty unique build-up and execution, and I felt for both the killer and victim.

BDA: The death of Jesse Jennings. Jesse was a victim of his own plan, but damned if he wasn't fully devoted to it right to the end. I like that his motives weren't entirely heroic, and he did get to feel a little bit of the glory he wanted, at least in his head. It was a nice, neat close to his arc that fit perfectly with the rest of Jesse's story.

Best Kill AwardIan Williams for killing Paulo AbbateIf one were to put Ian and Paulo together in a fight with their pre-island mindsets, I don’t think many would peg Ian down as the victor. But with all of the mental duress Ian’s had to go through, as well as the rapid loss of his allies, it’s not much of a surprise (aside from the fact that Paulo was rolled >.>) that he was able to wipe out Paulo so well. This scene was just really really good, and considering that Ian originated with such an anti-killing mindset, I’d love to see the impact winning BKA would have on his psyche.

Best Death AwardMimi for the death of Summer SimmsI’ve been a massive fan of Summer since her very first post, and seeing her slip off the edge has been such an enjoyable and heartbreaking ride. Although I was initially shocked to see her swapped in place of Cooper (a heroing that was really deserved; go read Cooper, guys), it makes complete sense, and although I was sad to see her go, her final scene and post were more than worth it and were a superb and emotional conclusion to her character. Goodbye, Summer. You will be missed.

Oh wow, this month is probably the hardest month yet. So many good deaths by so many wonderful handlers.

BKA: This award wasn't any easier to assign, just because we had only six killings to choose from. I absolutely loved the way violence erupted in panicked, frenzied kills for certain characters, such as Eliza Patton and Ian Williams. However, my favorite killing would have to be the refined mercy killing carried out by Ruggahissy's Mara Montalvo.Rugga and Mimi set up their friendship so beautifully in this thread. It was truly heartbreaking to see Mara give up on Summer because she'd devolved so far down the line of sanity. However, she still cared, no matter how much she tried to cast off her former friend. Even after Summer had assaulted an entire group, Mara still cared enough to deliver her friend a swift kill.

BDA: This was a tremendously difficult one. We had some really epic deaths by proxy of the story, such as Theodore Fletcher's fitting mauling, and Summer Simms's mercy killing. Of course, Ghost of Ravenstar's Gavin Hunter also deserves a silly vote, because it was so utterly strange.However, I felt that Shangela's Brianna Battaglia was phenomenally done. Watching a character shift from somewhat still hopeful, to utterly hopeless in just three posts is tremendously hard to do, yet Brianna did it well. I liked that she attempted to actually play by the rules of the game, but valued being a good person even more. I like that she didn't die a victim, but felt defiant against the game to the end.

For BKA, I choose Amaranta Montalvo, for killing Summer Simms. I was pretty divided on this choice, so first, I'll give a shout-out to Katarina Konipaski and Ian Williams.

Going back to the topic, the entire scene was chaotic when Summer came and I simply loved every bit of it. I don't know how to describe it (I kinda suck at this). I just loved it. Maybe it was simply the execution. I really can't tell you why.

For BDA, I choose Ruggahissy, for the death of Michelle Wexler. I'm going to give a shout-out this time to Mimi for Summer Simms (I loved that last line), Shangela for Brianna Battaglia, and Grim Wolf for Karen Idel.

I like stuff on this site almost all the time. I get entertained very easily here. However, it's very, very rare that a death makes me feel something. Rugga managed to do that with Michelle. The formatting of the death post and her last words made the entire thing very sad, and the fact that she was probably one of the nicest people on the island made it worse. Looking at it again made me feel sad, which is even more phenomenal. So congrats, Rugga, for writing one of, in my opinion, the best deaths in v5.

BKA: Hansel Williams. Why? Firstly Theo vs. Hansel, was a very amazing fight. Also IC it'd make sense giving Hansel the BKA, as it was a showdown between both topkillers. He also got no weapon from Theo and his only useful weapon is the FAMAS. And I bet the terrorists would love to give him another weapon so he can take out more people.

BDA: Cyrus White. Man there were so many awesome deaths, and I have to admit it's hard to decide who to nominate as I liked every death. But why did I choose Cyrus? Well he panicked and regretted joining the Escape group. His death reminded me a bit of Alex Miller. Or a reverse George Leidman in The Cavalry Arrives. I think Cyrus' panic and despair is a realistic and well written reaction to his collar beeping. simpleinsanity did a good job, it's his first character after all.

BKA: Mara Montalvo for killing Summer Simms. This is the picturesque SOTF situation: your friend is dying and you're not. Should you put them out of their misery or just leave them to die? Mara clearly did the former, and her last speech to Summer was touching enough to make her stick out.

BDA: Laurels' death of Sophie McDowell. I absolutely love Laurels' writing, for one, and the last few lines of her death post really pulled at my heartstrings. It's always nice to see a kid complacent with death, and I personally find it really heartwarming.

Special mention goes to Espi's death of Theodore Fletcher, again mostly due to the last few paragraphs. Shame that he repented too late.

The reason for this vote has to do with the fact that, from the perverse entertainment perspective of the terrorists, this is the most visceral kill of the options. With 1/2 the kills being clean gunshots, they aren't as entertaining kills as the drawn out fight scenes of the other three. Of the fight scenes, Travis's with Edgar stands out for a few reasons. First, it's drawn out. A lot of stuff happens over the fight. Second, the way in which Travis wins in the end is more remarkable. He manages to pull a trick that doesn't just involve out-strengthing or skilling his opponent, but he out-mindgames Edgar at the very end. It makes the whole fight feel a bit more impressive.

BDA – Ruggahissy, for the death of Michelle Wexler

The reason for this vote has to do with the combination of how great Rugga's writing is and how well she ties Michelle's story up at the end. To elaborate on that second point, there are a few points I want to mention. First, Michelle integrates the EMT motif into the post beautifully, which contributes to the consistency of the character. Second, she keeps Michelle's motivations consistent. It would have been incredibly awkward had Michelle suddenly gone, "OH GOD I DON'T WANT TO DIE BECAUSE FEAR OF DEATH/FAMILY/REASONS." Rugga does Michelle a huge favor in keeping Michelle's motivations consistent to the very end, even knowing that Michelle's death spells the end of Group Nap Time. Third, I like how she closes Michelle's dialogue on very personal notes. While the most important line she says in terms of Virgil's response is her asking him not to kill, that's not the last thing she says. Instead, she closes with something very banal. This, again, contributes to making Michelle seem very human and emotional, instead of just a character in a game.

For Best Kill I'm picking Hansel Williams for the kill of Theo Fletcher.

The kill itself was gritty and well-written but the thing that makes it is Hansel's reaction after the kill and what it means for Hansel as a character. His biggest enemy on the island is dead and I'm interested in seeing where he goes from here. On top that I'd like to see what happens if he's rewarded for killing when he's trying to stop playing.

Best Death

For Best Death I'm picking Mimi for the death of Summer Simms.

In my opinion Summer's death is the perfect way to end her story. She doesn't die happy. She dies failing and full of fear. Her last effort to search for the camera encapsulate her insanity. She wanted to be loved but in the end she was deluding herself that she's loved and friends with the terrorists. Mimi's writing for the whole thread also helps since it's top notch.